6:00: Morning News

Blankenship jury off until Monday; judge denies defense mistrial motion

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Following just more than five full days of deliberations the 12-member jury hearing the Don Blankenship criminal trial went home Tuesday evening for the holiday break without reaching a verdict.

For the second straight day, the jury had no questions for U.S. District Judge Irene Berger. Deliberations have now topped approximately 25 hours.

Blankenship, 65, the former Massey Energy CEO, is charged with three federal criminal counts. He was allegedly part of a conspiracy at the Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County that pushed production over safety. He also allegedly committed fraud in a statement to shareholders following the April 2010 explosion at UBB that killed 29 miners.

Judge Berger denied a motion late Tuesday from Blankenship defense attorney Bill Taylor for a mistrial. It’s the third time the judge has denied such a motion since deliberations began last week.

“The jury has made it known it is unable to reach a verdict,” Taylor said.

UBB family member Shirley Whitt told reporters Tuesday evening she believes the jury will get it right.
UBB family member Shirley Whitt told reporters Tuesday evening she believes the jury will get it right.

But Judge Berger reminded Taylor that note came after just eight hours of deliberations and there’s been no indication since then that the jury is having problems.

“They apparently continue to talk,” Berger said. “There’s no reason to believe they are deadlocked or are coerced to reach a verdict. A five-and-a-half week case is very complex for people who don’t know the law. Five days (of deliberations) is not long for five-and-a-half weeks of testimony.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Ruby called the renewed motion for a mistrial “all together premature.”

Ruby and Taylor met with Judge Berger in private for about a half-hour Tuesday afternoon. There was no word on what they discussed. Ruby told a UBB family member the matter was sealed.

Shirley Whitt, a sister of UBB victim Boone Payne, said she would have liked to have a verdict before Thanksgiving but she hasn’t given up on the jury.

“If it takes 20 days we’ll be here. We want justice. We don’t care how long it takes,” Whitt said. “I think it is a complex matter. All of those indictments, if you through each one of them, there’s probably a lot of material they are going through.”

The jury wants to get it right, Whitt predicted.

“They’ve been there for five days and they’re not saying, ‘we can’t do this anymore,’ they have to be talking about something in there, we just don’t know what,” Whitt said.

Deliberations resume Monday morning at nine o’clock.

 





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